The Golden Hour
by LilNyNyify
Summary: Sakura hated the awkwardness of going through formalities, especially in this situation, but legalities required her to. "By order of the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade Senju, I, Sakura Haruno and accompanying ANBU unit team members recognize capture squad Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuuga, Sai of Root, Naruto Uzumaki, and the detainee Sasuke Uchiha."
1. Sakura Haruno of ANBU

**A/N: Hello there! I haven't been on FF for a while, but I want to finally start updating and getting back on here so that I can better my writing. I'm nineteen now and in college, so my writing has definitely seen some improvement. From this story on, I'm going to treat this account as a professional one with regular updates, seeing as I aspire to be a professional writer in the (hopefully) near future.**

 **This new story I'm creating will be a series of oneshots (I believe that's the term), that will center around Sakura being a more useful and valuable asset than Masashi Kishimoto wrote her.**

 **Honestly, based on how much planning I'm putting into this, this will probably be a story story and not a single chapter. We'll see. All of these will be Sakura-centric, with additional side characters to support the story. I love seeing a stronger, bolder, less pitiful Sakura. Please read and review, I always love to hear what people think!**

 **\- n a y a**

* * *

" **I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears."**

― **George R.R. Martin**

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

" **Sakura Haruno of ANBU"**

 **Summary: Sakura hated the awkwardness of going through formalities, especially in this situation, but legalities required her to. "By order of the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade Senju, I, Sakura Haruno and accompanying ANBU unit team members recognize capture squad Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru Nara, Neji Hyuuga, Sai of Root, Naruto Uzumaki, and the detainee Sasuke Uchiha. We Team Iriko are here to escort Team Hatake back to the Village Hidden in The Leaves, Konohagakure.**

* * *

Branches and leaves whipped wildly as a group of seasoned ANBU operatives flashed by through the Konoha forest. Each member of the elite squad wore a porcelain mask depicting a specific type of animal, all hiding their features and identity completely. An ox, a ram, a slug, and a monkey were present within the group. Their uniforms consisted of dark grey vests and pants, complete with arm guards and short swords strapped to their backs. Totaling four in all, Team Iriko dashed in V-formation with the captain pacing towards the front. The trailing members all had strong, tall, muscular builds that moved and flexed generously as they leapt from bough to bough, while the captain retained a rather lithe and smaller yet equally strong physique. In this way, she was feminine while her companions were distinctly male.

Their mission was simple in nature; their objective was to rendezvous with an elite, hand-picked, hunter-nin task force that had successfully detained a criminal listed in the Land of Fire's bingo book, ranking somewhere among the top twenty. This particular retrieval unit had been tracking their target for bordering three years now and—based on the developments detailed in their last report a few days ago—had made contact, battled, and barely captured their target. The squad was now returning home with their charge, however, the battle that had taken place had left certain members with varying degrees of injury. The Fifth Hokage deemed it fitting then, to deploy Team Iriko for the dual purpose of having a captain that specialized in providing medical assistance and a team qualified to give support in the event of their quarry escaping or a confrontation with foreign forces.

Presently, the captain began to slow her speed through the canopy, choosing instead to drop weightlessly to the forest floor. She landed lightly on all fours, her comrades landing in formation soundlessly behind her. Straightening and removing her slug mask, Sakura Haruno exhaled heavily. Most of her hair was tucked under a ski-mask that covered her entire head, allowing others to only see the features of her face. She'd taken to hiding her hair on missions because her identity usually garnered her team unwanted attention during foreign espionage missions. However, the portion of her face that was showing revealed small signs of weariness. Forest green eyes blinked tiredly out of a strong, beautiful face; sharp angled brows battled with the constant wrinkle settled between them, and full pale pink lips pulled slightly downward as she surveyed the area around them. Warm afternoon light bathed the treetops above them in a golden glow, the wind rustling the leaves and swaying them every which way. Tall, thick oak tree boughs twisted and crept from the earth, creating a dense layer of moss-covered forestry that shrouded them from view. Birds could be heard flitting from thicket to thicket, as well as other creatures native to the surrounding area of Konoha's forests. The atmosphere was gentle and relaxed, with insects and wildlife alike teeming all around them. Withdrawing a small folded slip of paper, Sakura checked the coordinates and descriptions listed with her team's current surroundings. They had stopped in a small clearing and were scheduled to meet with the capture team the following day.

Looking up, she spoke. "Well, gentlemen. We've reached the checkpoint Lady Tsunade briefed us about earlier today. We can make temporary camp here for right now but don't get too comfortable. The retrieval unit will be meeting us here tomorrow at sundown, and we'll be escorting them home by nightfall. Got it?" She inquired, looking around at the men.

When she received different signals of approval, mostly grunts, she relaxed and slid her pack off her shoulder, where it fell to the ground with a soft thud. Crouching, the lone female squatted over her pack as she tucked her fingers under the ski mask covering her head and pulled backward.

The sigh that escaped her lips was audible as her pale pink locks came cascading down, resting a little below her shoulders. Thumbing her ends thoughtfully, Sakura reminded herself that when this was all over, she would need to get a haircut. Her hair's length was just crossing the line of being too long. Turning around, she surveyed her squad lazily as she opened her pack to set out her sleeping bag and a few other items.

Her other teammates Ahiko and Masamune were busy setting up the fire and arguing quietly on whether or not to start one while her third subordinate, Raiden, was busy prepping the security perimeter. The ease in which they set into routine every mission hadn't come naturally. When the four of them had been assigned as a squad a year ago, their team chemistry had been repellent, similar to oil and water.

There were distinct factors that had presented themselves as hurdles for their cell's already flimsy dynamics. For one, there was the obvious experience gap. Ahiko and Masamune were the remnants of an older Anbu cell unit that had been broken up due to a number of team casualties, but both had served for at least four years already, which was more than Sakura could say. She herself had already been on the active duty ANBU roster bordering on two years when she was assigned to Team Iriko, and had just been promoted to the team leader for the first time. Raiden had been in the same recruitment year as Sakura herself but had been acting as a stand-in for another squad unit until said person returned to active duty.

Secondly, tumultuous didn't even describe the first four months Sakura spent getting to know the young men she'd been assigned. It had eventually dawned on her the amount of patience Kakashi needed to force the polar opposite personalities that Sasuke and Naruto had to work as a team.

For starters, Raiden was the youngest member of their squad and the most arrogant. Coming from prodigious roots and a wealthy family, Raiden was already catching the eye of numerous superiors in the ANBU Core when placed on Team Iriko, and him making his debut on Sakura's freshly minted unit didn't help relations. With him getting special treatment, (a new uniform and not the beat up ones that the previous owner most likely died in, specialized training ground access, personal healers etc.) Raiden wasn't winning any favors with the new members of his team, especially not Ahiko.

Ahiko was an older generation ANBU, and absolutely despised nepotism or favoritism shown towards ninja with wealthy backgrounds. Raiden just couldn't quite shake the traces of 'rich boy' that seemed to cling to his every movement, as Ahiko put it. And there was still the issue of Raiden's arrogance. Whether Masamune was asking a question for clarification or Sakura gave an order he disagreed with, the level of disrespect and annoyance showed more in his body language than his speech.

Sakura and Masamune's own relationship had started out rocky, in part, due to the fact that they both were know-it-alls, as Raiden would bluntly point out if the topic came up. On the first day, Sakura had prepared herself to be mocked by her teammates. To be scoffed at and patronized, because she simply knew it would come. With her small stature, girlish looks, and all around delicate presentation, Sakura knew she would be facing an uphill battle when it came to interacting with her team. Sakura was also intelligent and was accustomed to being the smartest when it came to textbook knowledge and strategy.

However, as Sakura quickly found out, a textbook can only get an ANBU captain so far, and at some point, she needed to rely on the experience of her teammates to guide her, albeit subtly. Masamune was not subtle in any sense of the word. While Sakura had to deal with Raiden's quiet snubs in regards to her leadership, Masamune outwardly challenged the practicality of any command she gave. At every turn, Masamune was consistently undermining her authority with not-so-subtle hints at what he often thought was a more logical plan of action. It got to the point that on more than one occasion Sakura had to forcefully remind Masamune who was and was not the captain of their squad and therefore the decision maker in regards to their missions.

Overall, as team leader Sakura (thankfully) didn't have to walk them through drills or babysit them, but all three gentlemen did look to her as team captain. Her margin for error was remarkably small, she had to quickly become accustomed to making snap-decisions for any situation that arose, and by no means could she ever allow even a moment's hesitation in her actions. Hesitation of any degree could and was proven to be fatal in the Anbu Core. All of her grueling training prior to taking her examinations to get to Anbu captain had taught her that.

When the time came for them to finally start operating as a team and apply for missions, the dynamics of Team Iriko had still been awful at best. The very last thing Sakura had wanted, above all, was to look like a weak captain who couldn't successfully lead. She'd constantly reminded herself to keep the hardline principles that her mentor, Lady Tsunade, had instilled in her and proceeded to rule her team with an iron fist. Sakura had snapped at dissension, barked out orders that she expected to be followed immediately, and had tucked the kind-hearted part of herself deep down inside, and buried her there. Sakura knew that to be apart of Anbu and retain any semblance of openness or kindness would be a mistake and make interactions and missions that much more difficult. Her quiet fear ate at her for quite some time, and to prove herself and her capability, she pushed her team harder than any others in active rotation. Team Iriko quickly became the most active and flexible cell unit in a little under a year, constantly slotted for any high-level missions available. Their success rate had not been tarnished yet. No one from her cell raised any complaints to her about the influx of missions, but the fatigue and strain that took place in daily team interactions increased in prominence.

Finally, one casual day after her team had departed from their routine practice, her former peer Shizune had made a rare appearance, showing up at the grounds and asking to speak with her. She'd expressed to her the worries she held concerning her bottomless ambition, and after arguing back and forth for a few minutes Sakura had finally cracked. She'd had a meltdown so large that training ground eight had been permanently reshaped. After she'd calmed down enough to properly speak, she'd voiced her fears to the shocked Shizune. Even further, her teammates had returned to the training grounds upon hearing the tantrum Sakura threw, believing there to be a commotion. What they found instead was a stressed and overwhelmed team leader. After a lengthy explanation and a few more tears, the relations within Team Iriko finally, finally stabilized. Unbeknown to Sakura, her subordinates had admitted that underneath the disagreements, they all were genuinely fond of their hard female captain and respected her greatly, and knew better than most that she could ferociously defend and hold her own in a battle as well as lead her unit to success. It was the reason she was captain, Masamune had reminded her quietly.

Sakura sighed again fondly at the memories of her first professional ninja squad and pulled herself from her thoughts. Placing the finishing items in her sleeping area⸺which consisted of a plush sleeping bag, a pillow, two mason jars with lit candles, snacks, and reading material⸺Sakura turned to face Masamune and Ahiko, who were warming up by the newly started fire in the middle of their makeshift camp. Rotted and mossed over tree stumps had been dragged from various parts of the surrounding woods to be used as seats. Plopping down next to Ahiko on his stump and nudging his hip with hers to make him move over a tad, Sakura shivered and rubbed her hands to heat them. Raiden was the last to make his way over to the fire and spoke once he had settled next to Masamune, who made room as well.

"How are you feeling, Sakura? " Raiden asked after a few minutes, his perceptive honey eyes regarding her across the flickering flames. He didn't bother to address her quietly, for her other team members were aware of the circumstances surrounding Sakura and their current mission. They glanced at her as well, waiting for her response.

Sakura knew exactly what he was referring to. If she were honest, she couldn't say what she felt at the moment and told them just as much.

"Honestly, guys. I haven't seen them in, what? Two, three years? I wouldn't know what to say, really. Thanks for leaving me on a bench? Thanks for quietly slipping out of the village on a three-year mission one day without telling me? For thinking I was too weak to be any real help? No hard feelings?" Sakura spoke bitterly.

She could hear the emotion reflected in her own voice, and her gloved hand tightened at the reminder. She had always been an emotional person and went to great strides over the years to correct that part of her personality. But it seemed she just couldn't help it. Personal things like relationships always held a special place near her heart, and the old and new members of Team Seven were no exception, no matter how much they hurt her.

She knew only too well that the coming hours and remainder of their mission would be a rollercoaster of turbulent and unresolved feelings, and not just for her. Seeing her old sensei and teammates again would prove certain to be a tense encounter, especially after all these years. All of them, including herself, had changed drastically in the time they had been apart. Sakura herself had become a notable and trustworthy fixture within the village, earning the respect of not only the village's civilian population, but her shinobi peers also. Sakura had distinguished herself from the rest based on her own talents and achievements and was damn proud of the fact. But somewhere deep inside of her, she knew that facing and being in the presence of Naruto, Kakashi, and even Sai would make her feel like a weak, useless genin again. It was an old insecurity, one that dealt with her being constantly protected or too weak to provide assistance as a comrade on equal footing.

As if sensing where her head had gone, Masamune bent down and plucked a twig off the forest floor, tossing it at her. She looked at him.

"Hey, hey, hey. Look, Cap. You flew up the ranks during the time they were gone, yeah? You are an official member of the ANBU Black Ops and, more importantly, leader of the highly successful Team Iriko. You are third in command at the Konoha Medical Hospital, Head of the Surgeon Core, and are slotted to become the Dean of Medicine for the academic department the minute you make the transition from active duty to retired shinobi." Masamune reminded her firmly, his dark basil colored eyes blazing the same shade as her own in the firelight.

"Not to mention," Ahiko piped up, "That you're also supposed to be taking the Fifth's place as one of the Sannin for the next generation of shinobi and kunoichi. You've had some truly astounding training, Sakura. Don't let one moment of insecurity diminish that." The flames from the fire crackled and popped in the silence of the forest, embers dancing, swirling and mingling with the smoke that unfurled towards the inky night sky.

Sakura smiled around weakly at all of them before ducking her head down, her rose-colored bangs hiding her wobbling lips.

"Thanks, guys."

* * *

 **A/N: This was really cool to write. I can't say for sure whether it will be a full story, but most likely, haha. Tell me what you think, where I can improve. I struggled a little with voicing Sakura's doubt and creating a believable way in which she interacts with these new ANBU teammates of hers, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them, as far as relationship dynamics go. But, uh, yeah. Read and Review, please! Reviews encourage all writers, as you probably know, lol.**

 **Bye!**

 **-Naya**


	2. Haste

**A/N: I just want to start out by saying thank you to 'Zephxr' for being my very first review of this story! I couldn't wait to update so that you guys could see what comes next. Not too many people have seen this story yet, so if you could show your friends that would be great! This chapter was written with certain pieces of information left out, information that will come in due time. I always try my hardest to make each chapter longer than the last, so hopefully, this won't be too short! Please read and leave your thoughts in a review!**

 **-n a y a**

* * *

" **Do not look for healing at the feet of those who broke you."**

— **Rupi Kaur**

* * *

Sakura awoke the next day on her pallet in the plush grass, feeling refreshed from her sleep. Her joints were sore and stiff from the low temperatures during the night, and the air around them was beginning to heat and steam with the recent passing of morning. It appeared to be around midday; the sun was also just starting to peak over the tops of the dark juniper green trees and shone brightly. Sakura stretched her arms in a high arc above her head, releasing a wide yawn. Hm. It seems she'd slept too deeply, if she was as relaxed and rested as she felt, on a mission no less. One of her teammates must have pulled a double watch and neglected to wake her for her shift.

Casting an accusing glare around the small clearing, Sakura searched for Ahiko or Masamune, but both were absent from the clearing. They must have broken camp early to scout the surrounding woods one final time. Sakura's wandering eye then landed on Raiden who—upon feeling her gaze on his back—sent Sakura a dry smirk.

He was clearing up his sleeping space quickly and efficiently, seeing as the time was soon approaching for them to fall into formalities when they made contact with the other squad. Sakura quickly set to work in clearing her own space, filling her personal belongings into her pack and closing it with a tight snap.

She made her way over to Raiden, who was standing by one of the stumps by the now lifeless campfire. Bumping his hip, she murmured, "You took my watch for me. I could've gotten up for it." She picked up his short sword, whose handles were wrapped neatly with thick, green gauze, for grip. The blade was sharp and clean, forged of the Sand Village's famous iron sand. A gift Raiden's father had commissioned upon his entrance into ANBU, he'd told them once.

Still packing, he replied lowly, "I know that, Captain. But considering the events scheduled for today, I figured you'd need all the rest you could get." He cast her a sidelong, knowing glance over his shoulder, and finished closing his pack. Slinging it onto his back, he held out his gloved palm. Sakura flushed slightly, returning his blade, which he strapped securely on his back.

Raiden was usually professional to a fault and tended to place himself at an emotional distance from others. He rarely talked and every action he took was measured carefully and never wasted. The fact that he had taken an extra shift in light of the daunting situation she currently faced, spoke of a kinder side of Raiden that she wasn't always used to seeing. Seeing her pleased expression, his amber eyes lighted, and a smirk quirked his lips that resembled the shadow of a smile.

A short, high-pitched whistle came then, from within the trees. Ahiko and Masamune were ready to move. Sakura and Ahiko stared at each other for a long moment, before each of them slid on their respective masks and became Slug and Ox.

—

Sweat trickled down a masked ninja's furrowed brow as he dashed through the treetops. Matted, silver hair slick with sweat and blood fell into his vision wildly; he flicked it back with a rough shake of his head. The sun had just crested into the sky and shone brightly in the midday hours. Sweltering heat made the elusive ninja's face mask cling to him like a second skin, coupled with the occasional flicks from native bugs in the forest.

Glancing to his left, Kakashi Hatake surveyed the state of his younger co-captain, Shikamaru Nara. He was managing to keep up with the brisk pace—barely. Shikamaru's body weaved dangerously back and forth through the trees, pacing a little bit behind Kakashi. Sheer willpower and Kakashi's watchful eye were the only things standing between him and the forest floor or a tree branch. Shikamaru had been apart of the initial contact battle after they had found Team Hebi and Sasuke a few miles outside of a small village and had received a crushing blow to the head from the one named 'Juugo'.

Swiveling his gaze to his opposite side, Kakashi checked over the other members of his squad, all of them a little worse for wear. His alert eye landed on Sai, the only member of their team with more professional field knowledge than any of them, minus himself. He had no obvious outside injuries—save for the shattered, broken drawing arm hanging uselessly as he leapt—but had also been on the receiving end of the orange man's monstrous strength as well.

Sai had broken out of their formation to help Shikamaru battle; a trait he had clearly inherited from a certain rash blonde that accompanied them. Kakashi vaguely remembered Sai calling for him to be careful after Shikamaru had taken the brunt of a vicious side-arm swipe that had knocked him into a tree, dazed. Sai had then jumped to his defense out of desperation, which lead to him sustaining his broken arm.

Currently, Sai jumped alongside at breakneck speed, keeping up just as well. However, Kakashi noted the light sheen of sweat that coated his pale complexion and his labored breathing. How, when he prepared to spring for the next branch, Sai favored his left side and restricted any movement within his torso area, trying to minimize any jarring movement, if possible. Kakashi's brain whispered 'broken ribs', and his mouth pulled downwards at the thought.

Lastly, Kakashi leaned forward on the pretense of running faster to get a closer glimpse at Neji Hyuga's countenance. Neji himself had battled with the white-haired swordsman, discovering quickly that their capabilities were ill-suited for a proper battle, in regards to one another. The Hyuga had been endlessly blocking the mouthy ninja's wide slashing arcs with his chakra rotations, wary of any poison-laced on the blade. However, the adage that 'poison is a woman's weapon' seemed to hold some form of truth, as a grudgingly well placed, poison-dipped senbon penetrated his three-sixty rotation and had slashed a deep gouge in the side of his neck.

The senbon came from the red-haired female by the name of 'Karin'.

Kakashi had a sinking feeling that she was the reason for his team's wild, three-year, goose chase after Team Hebi. Based on the accounts and descriptions given in their limited intel, coupled with the sparse encounters they'd had, the kunoichi never actually fought if she could help it. Which meant that she had to have another purpose for traveling with Team Hebi altogether.

Kakashi had a sneaking suspicion that the young woman was actually an excellent sensor of chakra, and knew not only how to track or sense it, but manipulate it as well. The sum of false trails and scents Pakkun had followed, as well as the trace amounts of fabricated chakra chains Neji could see for miles, had been largely disappointing and frustrating. For every time they had managed to find the correct trail, they had blundered and followed three misleading ones beforehand.

Kakashi was sure she had also been the only one capable of poisoning Neji during his battle with the Mist ninja, seeing as her admittedly unique abilities had allowed for her to be able to see the minute weaknesses in Neji's chakra barriers. Impermeable to the cursory once-over, but riddled with weak spots to the rogue kunoichi.

Straining to be heard over the whipping leaves and air, Kakashi called out, "How are you holding up, Neji?"

The Byakugan user turned snowy white eyes toward his team leader and gave a curt nod.

Kakashi's alert, grey irises found the dark-haired man's own pearl gaze when he started speaking, raising his voice to be heard as well, "My health will be sufficiently stable until we reach Konoha. I have no doubt that I can make it, Captain." He assured, determination set in his gaze.

Kakashi's eyes slid to Neji's throat. Hidden beneath Sai's messy, makeshift bandages, Neji's neck was an unsightly mess of torn and bleeding skin. Smaller veins similar to the ones around his eyes webbed out from around the wound and peeked out from behind the bandages, dark purple against his skin with the strain of the poison. Rolling beads of sweat in the result of exertion and the strain of travel were clearly visible along his brow, and his posture was incredibly stiff as he ran through the treetops.

Kakashi knew that the Hyuga's threshold for pain would not allow him to show any outward signs of discomfort, which did not help Kakashi assess his health. Another existential worry was that the harder Kakashi rode their team to speed towards Konoha, the more the foreign poison would circulate through the Hyuga's blood stream.

At the same time, Kakashi had an equally pressing reason to beat a hasty return to Konoha. Team Kakashi had not failed in their three-year-long mission objective; Sasuke Uchiha had been detained and captured. However, the events surrounding his capture were grim and had left both the detainee and the last member of their retrieval unit in a direly critical situation.

Kakashi glanced down at the bright crimson and navy green scrolls strapped to his waist securely. He could feel the hum of chakra emanating from the scrolls, however, the energy coming from within was waning. He could feel both scrolls activity decreasing gradually as they traveled, and it shot a trill of worry up his spine that he hadn't felt in a long, long, time. He fervently hoped that they would make it to Konoha before it was too late.

—

In a scene reminiscent of the previous day, Team Iriko was traveling at a slower pace, still quick enough to keep them on schedule. They hurled themselves through the air, and the mood had shifted considerably. Gone were the teasing smirks and playful shoves. Instead, a somber silence had fallen over the elite assassins. No one had spoken since they cleared camp, a mere set of hours previous. It was sundown now; the sun leaned heavily into the horizon, a visual, smattering, interruption of brush and orange-gold light dripping down into the forest tree line.

The atmosphere pervading the group was markedly tense. Anticipation and nerves thrummed through the entire group as they leapt from tree to tree. Their mission was officially about to commence. Team Iriko had passed within range of the other team's wireless radios around twenty to thirty miles back and were en route to meet them within a maximum of thirty minutes.

Sakura released a shaky breath, a sound muffled slightly by the mask covering her face. This was it. She would be seeing all of her ex-teammates again, whether she wanted to or not. She would be re-introducing herself in a way, presenting a newer and definitely improved Sakura Haruno. All the years she spent training, learning, _growing_ was about to be put to the test.

When they saw her in her complete ANBU uniform, when she addressed them with the highest authority ringing from her voice, they would know that she had not spent her time fumbling and crying in their absence. All of her ex-teammates would come to understand that just as they had changed, so had she.

Initially, when she had realized that they were missing, it had taken Sakura a long time to figure out the actual truth. She had barged up to Tsunade's office, furious with her teammates for completely standing her up at the bridge when they routinely met for training, and had every intention of knocking the shit out of them when she saw them next.

Sakura had vented a whole embarrassing five minutes to Tsunade, before asking whether or not her sensei had seen them. The hard, steeling look the Fifth Hokage sent her in return had taken Sakura aback. It was the look she gave newly widowed wives or children seeking out parents killed in action. They weren't _dead,_ Sakura had rationalized. She had seen them a few nights ago at Ichiraku's. For the life of her, Sakura hadn't been able to understand why her teacher's eyes glimmered at her with so much regret and finality?

And then, Tsunade began speaking, and proceeded to crush Sakura's heart into a thousand pieces. As it turns out, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sai hadn't given her a moments notice when they had slipped out of the village under the cover of night, for what she thought was the final time, as the years would pass. They'd gone home, packed their necessities, and disappeared. No note. No explanation. Just gone.

When asked why she was not considered for the roster of ninja who would be participating in the high-ranked mission, Tsunade had responded that 'Certain elements regarding her former relationship with the mission's target would not construct a condusive environment for her to help the unit capture its target'. Sakura's pink brows had risen so high; she remembered gripping her own wrist for dear life to control the urge to smash anything, _anything_ within her reach.

Sakura remembered every single feeling she experienced as Tsunade explained. Embarrassment had been the strongest. Hot, licking, flames of embarrassment had eaten up her face, while the next and heavier emotion had been a weighted disappointment. It sank so low in her belly that she'd thought it would drag her through the floor. Another emotion, clear as day, had been hurt. It spread through her chest like warm liquor, and she hadn't felt it in that magnitude in a long time (Since Sasuke last rejected her, to be exact). Then, wrapping it all her feelings together in a neat little bow had been anger; although the feeling had been blunted slightly due to shock.

Tsunade had stared at her, watching her work to control her calm, to not let her emotions overrule her. "Those are the reasonings of the captain and co-captain, not mine." In retrospect, Tsunade hadn't sounded entirely convinced either, but the fact that she'd still allowed them to leave her still hurt, regardless.

Tsunade _had_ seemed slightly alarmed though, when Sakura's eyes had glossed over, and her shoulders had kind of slumped forward, as if someone were pressing on them. She'd been expecting a tantrum, Sakura supposed. No, she'd do that later, she had too many questions whirling in her head.

Her previous relationship? The one where Sasuke degraded her, treated her like a hindrance, and eventually a nuisance? And what of Naruto and Kakashi's 'prior relationship'? They were just as much affected by his absence as she was, Naruto more so! Naruto was like a cat with a laser with anything even remotely concerning the rogue Uchiha, and a liability at times, even with the best intentions.

Sweet, sweet Naruto had left her behind in the dust to chase after the person who only ever truly mattered to him, stomping and destroying her faith in him altogether, in one go. Bringing Sasuke home was supposed to be a team effort, something restricted only for the most devoted members of Team Seven to complete. Yet here she was. Forgotten, cast aside.

Sakura recalled bitterly all the countless nights she had spent staring at her ceiling fan, wracking her mind, wondering what it was about her that made her unqualified to go with them. Eventually, she would usually hop out of bed—disgusted with herself—and go train until she was exhausted.

As the commanding leader of her own ANBU unit now, Sakura was equal parts anxious and excited, but tried hard to conceal the slight tremors that accompanied her movements. As she jumped through the trees, Sakura set aside her anger and hurt for a moment.

How had they changed? Did Kakashi still read that disgusting little orange book? Was Naruto still a loud-mouth? Or had time spent on the road tempered his exuberance somewhat? Was Sai still as pale as she remembered him?

And Sasuke...how had his time with Orochimaru affected him? Sakura hadn't seen him in so long, the image of him that she held in her mind was that of a young boy. She knew he'd matured and grown, but she just couldn't picture him.

All in all, it didn't matter. Sakura would not be cowed or intimidated in their presence. She was a ninja of the highest caliber, and wouldn't relapse back on old habits and insecurities. She was a goddamn kunoichi, and they would respect her just as her ANBU teammates did.

Beside her, Raiden's wireless radio beeped three times, signaling that they were within range of others using the same frequency. Behind his mask, Raiden gave a sharp nod and flashed a hand twice.

Ten minutes out.

Good, Sakura thought, emerald eyes narrowing. Let's get this show on the road.

—

Kakashi raised a hand up briskly, bringing the entire squad to a staggering halt.

"I don't know who is up ahead," He started lowly, slowly lifting his forehead protector and revealing a swirling crimson, Sharingan eye, "But we've got company."

* * *

 **A/N: OK, I thought I'd clarify in case I didn't give you guys enough of a clue, but after being away for three years, Kakashi was unaware that a retrieval team was being sent to meet them. Sneaky, sneaky, huh? And you'll figure out where on earth Naruto and Sasuke have been this whole time as well, lol! Please read and review, any constructive criticism is welcome!**

 **-n a y a**


End file.
